Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Spinning Again
I feel like a broken record this week. Once again, set my alarm for an early morning run. Once again, I reset and went back to sleep. Once again, I hit up spin instead. And it kicked my booty - or quads I should really say.

Honestly, I'm feeling oddly guilty about not getting out and running. I know there is absolutely no reason at all to feel guilty. I mean, I'm not in training mode. I've been running for fun anyway. And if I can't tear myself out of bed and it's too blasted hot after work (car thermostat read 109 ouch), then so be it right? So why the guilt? Anyone else ever go through this?

I do know that I am going to run this weekend come hell or high water. Around here, it's going to feel more like the heat of hell unfortunately. Not even sure what water or rain looks like any longer ;-) But, I'm missing running. I'm missing being outside. I'm missing the feel of my feet on the pavement, the movement of my body, and even the pouring sweat.

Despite missing all that comes with running, I still can't seem to drag my rear end out of bed in the morning to get the run in. This week I'll chalk it up to Chicago Recovery. Next week...no excuses.

Spaghetti Squash
Tonight I really wanted another no-brainer kind of dinner. I thought about stir fry but failed to press any tofu. I went wight my Plan B meal using spaghetti squash.

I made Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes & Spinach based off my Spaghetti Squash with Garlicky Tomatoes, Kale and Chickpeas. I didn't have fresh tomatoes or kale, however, so I made more of a sauce with canned tomatoes and used spinach as well as artichokes. It's an easy and versatile type of sauce you can use any other types of veggies and it's good over pasta as well.

Place spaghetti squash insides down on baking sheet. Bake approximately 35-45 minutes until easily shreds. Shred and set aside.

In a large, non-stick skillet, saute onions and garlic until begin to soften. Add in remaining ingredients and allow to cook until liquid begins to thicken. Stir in the spaghetti squash, reseasoning if needed.

Note: if using fresh herbs, add at the end of the cooking.

This really is a simple dish to toss together. The whole dish took about 45 minutes from start to finish. If you don't want to heat up your kitchen, you can even bake the squash in your toaster oven (which is what I do).